Where’s the best place to retire cheap in 2018? Here’s my definite list for the year!

Here you go, in order:

#8 Cebu, Philipines: Beautiful forts, old architecture, mountains and beaches…..what’s not to love about Cebu? Also Cebu speaks English. They have great food, a mix of traditional and western can be found here no problems. The biggest problem with Cebu and why it only ranked #8 on this years list? Heat. It’s hottttttt, hot, hot here. Also spotty wifi, and roosters. Why are roosters a big con? They still have cock fighting here. So you are going to hear roosters all the time. One of the best things about Cebu though? The beaches, this will rank high for you if you love beaches!

#7 Bali, Indonesia: Tranquil beaches, and a very diverse culture is why it’s #7 on this years list. You’ll find everything from Australian backpackers, to yoga pant wearing hippies residing here. I’ve been all around the world and this is one of the most diverse places I have found in the way of culture. The people of Bali, are all great though. Regardless if you like yoga or all you can drink night clubs, there’s a place in the city for you. You’ll be able to get fresh fruit shakes for $1 CDN and big beers are $3. The biggest problem with Bali, is that it’s full of bugs. I don’t think I saw one traveller that was not covered in bug bites. I’d vacation here, but I don’t think I’d like to retire here. But I love the banana pancakes on the beach…..so good and definitely worth going for!

#6 Quito, Ecuador: Quito is one of the cities you’ll definitely visit in Ecuador. The reason you’ll visit is that it’s an airport hub and it’s close to the Amazon. Would I retire there? Yes, but it’s not as good as it’s sister city Cuenca. While Quito has several things going for it like Uber and more buses going to different parts of the country, it’s not quite perfect. Giant hills make walking around difficult, and while I’d recommend coming here, (It’s still in the top 10 in the world.) It’s neighbor Cuenca is just better for retirees. Another problem with Quito is like most of South America, people don’t really speak English. Great healthcare in Ecuador though keeps Quito in the mix! Also as a bonus if you’re staying in Quito, go check out the Blue Door Housing…fantastic place to stay.

#5 Chiang Mai, Thailand: Founded in 1296, this northern town in Thailand is a quiet place compared to Bangkok. The old town here is amazing, picturesque with temples and a feeling of peace. It doesn’t feel like a big tourist trap like Bangkok does. Saying that there are some reasons it’s ranked #5. No transit. The city has no good bus/transit/taxi. You’ll be taking Jeepneys everywhere. Recently it got GRAB, but cars are still relatively rare.

FOOD! Banh Mi is my go to food in Vietnam. Even if I never retire in Saigon, I’ll need to fly back at least once a year to eat some Banh Mi.

The costs here are great:

Coffee 17,600 Dong ($1 CDN

I’ve tried to give up smoking, but it’s been hard so I’ll usually have a smoke with my morning coffee. Cigarettes are 25,500 Dong ($1.50 CDN) a pack.

Gym 260,000 Dong ($15 CDN) a month.

Vietnamese Sub, AKA Banh Mi, AKA delicious 15,000 Dong ($1 CDN). The funny thing about Banh Mi’s is that there are several stands all around my apartment. All of the Banh Mi’s are slightly different but they are all uniformly 15,000 Dong!

My apartment was 4.4 million Dong ($250 CDN ) a month. This included high speed internet (43 Mbps), a maid once a week, power, water etc. (Shared with 2 other people).

A bowl of Pho 40,000 Dong ($2 CDN)

Why did it not rate higher on my best countries to retire cheap list? Heat mainly, and the fact that GRAB is really bad there. Also the visa situation kind of sucks. You have to do paperwork ahead of time to get your Visa, and Visa runs are necessary every 3 months.

#3 Medellin, Colombia: Ranked #3 this is my #1 to place to visit. Especially if I were just to judge it by it’s vibrancy and culture. I loved Medellin as soon as I stepped off the plane. The sounds, the sights (the women are beautiful) and the fact that everyone seems pretty darn nice. Medellin is somewhere you definitely want to visit at least once in your life. Saying that it only ranked #3 for a reason. It’s lively culture also includes, drugs, thieves and assaults. Every person I knew had either been mugged, robbed or pickpocketed (or personally knew somebody who had been). I personally had somebody try to pickpocket me, and my roommate was robbed at knife point. The safety factor drops this amazing city in Colombia to #3.

#2 Siem Reap, Cambodia: The city of temples! It’s got all the charm of Vietnam, and it has 50 cent beers! Food will cost more than Vietnam, but it balances itself out with cheaper beer/cigarettes. In Siem Reap you’ll find a great combination of international food, and $3 lunches. This is the only place where I found imported liquor cheaper than it is back home in Canada! That’s right if you’ve travelled around you know the price of international booze is always more expensive. In Siem Reap, Jack Daniels is actually 40% cheaper than it is at home in Canada. The only caveat to this is wine. Wine is double the price for no known reason.

Siem Reap is small enough to walk around, but if you get sick of walking there’s an abundance of Tuk Tuks. Safe, and with great English, this is a great place to retire cheap. Visa on arrival is no problem, and it’s super easy to get 6 month extensions. The only reason it didn’t make the top spot on my list? Hot! It’s hot, hot hot! If you like hot weather this place should actually move itself up to number one.

#1 Cuenca, Ecuador: Oh Cuenca, I love you. Cuenca contains all the beautiful architecture you would find in Quito, but not filled with giant hills. I’ve found this is a sleepy town, but it is big enough to have malls, movie theaters and gyms.

I love the fact that you can pretty much walk everywhere here. A lot of expats lose weight just because of the constant walking.

You’ll wake up go for a walk to the market, get some fresh eggs and vegetables all for a $1 CDN. Big beers are $1.75 CDN, and meals out are roughy $2.50.

There is a wide assortment of culture to be found here, but it’s not really a party place. Cuenca isn’t a place you want to go for a vacation. There’s really not much to do here. It’s a place you’ll want to go to retire. A strong expat community also makes it an easy place to make friends.

Why is it rated so highly then? Just the fact that while it’s a sleepy town it is also peaceful and easy to get to know.

The only thing about Cuenca that I’d love to see change? It needs a better cab system. In Quito there was Cabify and Uber. Nothing like that exists in Cuenca. But when you can get a cab they are friendly and cheap.

Cuenca wins 2018 with its perfect spring like weather though out the year, great people and good sized population. Cuenca was #1 in 2017, and I am keeping it here for 2018.

I hope this list has been useful to you. It was a lot of fun to make! It’s been a big year for me in 2018 and I love travel blogging. Thank you so much for your support! If you have any questions about which countries to retire cheap in, just message me!

If you’re looking for the best country to retire cheap , you’re going to definitely consider Vietnam. To be honest, until this recent trip, I never thought of coming to Cambodia. Known as the “more expensive, less safe version of Vietnam”, I had to come see it for myself. Today I’m going to compare two cities, Ho Chi Minh (AKA Saigon vs Siem Reap).

Rating 1: Partying & Nightlife

Siem Reap has Pub street, while Vietnam has Bui Vien. Both of these are the areas where people go to party when the sun goes down. The town of Siem Reap is also perfect for going out during the day, it’s small and everything is within walking distance. If you want a ride around town it’ll cost about a $1 for a Tuk Tuk. Ho Chi Minh (HCM) is much more spread out. It’s also a huge pain in the ass to get a motorbike taxi or cab. Getting a cab, is over priced as hell in Vietnam unless you use GRAB, and the problem with that is that it’ll take about 30 minutes to get one. (Half of the time you’ll book a GRAB and the car driver will cancel on you, or ask you to cancel.)

Winner: Siem Reap. Pub street kicks ass. It’s a much bigger area than Bui Vien, even though Siem Reap itself is much smaller than Vietnam. On Pub street you can get a massage, a beer, a pack of smokes and a taco for a combined price of under $10. Prices are great! (Tip: Go one block out of the Pub Street area, and pay 30% less for everything). The only problem with Pub street is Tuk Tuk drivers. They don’t allow them cars on the main part of the street, so the drivers themselves will stand there and constantly hassle you asking if you want a ride. These drivers will ruthlessly overcharge you, so make sure you never agree to one. If you are coming to Siem Reap, use GRAB or PASSApp. LINK TO TUK TUKS IN CAMBODIA STORY

Rating 2: Danger. Both of these cities are relatively safe. Be careful of ladyboy hookers and pickpockets.

Winner: Siem Reap wins for safety. If you don’t go to shady places with ladyboy hookers, you are fine. In HCM one of the bigger problems is motorcycle mugging. They’ll drive by and the passenger on the back will snatch your phone, purse, etc. It’s not too bad, but it’s still not ideal. Because Siem Reap is a tourist town, police do seem more friendly, and keep an eye on crime.

Rating 3: English. The English qualities in both cities are fine. You won’t have any problems.

Winner: Siem Reap. The menus are universally English, and you’ll love it. Not only is English better, but it seems Cambodians are the most universally linguistically able people I’ve ever met. Here it’s not uncommon for people to speak 3 languages fluently! Vietnam isn’t bad, but definitely not as good as here.

Rating 4: Weather.

Winner: Tie. Both cities are universally hot and or rainy. If you like 30 degree plus weather, this is going to be the place to be. Also ants and mosquitos!

Rating 5: Food

Ok. I love food. Love it. If you love food, both cities have a great selection from local cuisine to imports.

Winner: Ho Chi Minh. Ho Chi Minh has one thing that Siem Reap doesn’t have. Banh Mi! LINK TO BANH MI STORY. Banh Mi for lunch for 80 cents is the #1 thing I love about Vietnam. Banh Mi, in case you don’t know are Vietnamese subs. Fresh baguettes from their in house bakery are stuffed with a mix of cured meats, and picketed vegetable. Literally if you have not had a Banh Mi in Vietnam you are missing out on one of the greatest pleasures in life. Also while Siem Reap has a great selection of food it’s missing out on McDonalds. I know you’re thinking I’m insane. I’m not. I don’t particularly need a McDonalds. I just use it as an example. If you like chains you’re out of luck. Ho Chi Minh has it all for food! This is a place to come for food. Whether you love Pho, Banh Mi or just want a burger and fries, Ho Chi Minh is a foodies paradise.

Rating 6: Cost

Both cities fall easily within my $1000 CDN a month budget. Saying that though, Ho Chi Minh is only affordable if you live in the local areas (District 7, 11, 12). If you live in the fancy areas of town with the expats and English teachers (District 1,2) then your budget will be much higher.

Winner: Siem Reap.

Rating 7: Shopping

Both places have little shops where you can buy things, but Ho Chi Minh has giant malls. Siem Reap by comparison has 3 separate night markets. These sell the $2 tank tops, and stuffed elephants.

Winner: Tie. Depending if you like luxury brands, and giant supermarkets or small night markets and local shops.

Rating 8: Health

Both places have cheap pharmacies everywhere.

Winner: Tie

Rating 9: Gyms

One of the best gyms I’ve found in the world is in Siem Reap. $1.25 a visit, it’s not fancy, sweaty guys working out without their shirts on, and fit ladies. Ho Chi Minh though also has $30 a month places, but it’s usually not as common as expensive places around $60.

Winner: Siem Reap. Cheap, and I love the fact you can work out without a shirt. There aren’t that many places you can do that!

Rating 10: Internet

This is super important. Both have strong internet. Neither is horrible. Either way you’ll be in a place where you have internet. Till you don’t. Natural disasters, weather and such make it hard to rely on it sometimes.

Winner: Ho Chi Minh: The internet was definitely less spotty, and more reliable in Ho Chi Minh. Siem Reap is a tourist town, and it’s still developing. So, things like fast, reliable internet aren’t a given. This will change in the future, but for now Ho Chi Minh is definitely better. I work online as you all know writing this blog. I make videos and love playing games. In Siem Reap, it is tough. Not impossible but tough. Watching tv online is hard!

OVERALL WINNER? SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA. This little tourist town is great!Everyday feels like you’re on vacation here. It’s a small place, and I love the fact that you can walk everywhere. I also love the fact that visas are easy to get. A 30 day on arrival visa plus an easy to get 6 month extension, means that you’ll only be doing tourist border runs once a year. If you are surprised that Cambodia has won, you have to come check it out. You’ll see why I love it! Bonus Tip: Siem Reap has sidewalks. (Ho Chi Minh, has areas for motorcycles to drive that supposedly sidewalks.) Also beers in Siem Reap are 50 cents! Siem Reap’s slogan should be “Come for Angkor Wat, stay for 50 cent draft!”

Cambodia vs Vietnam? Head to Head Show down!samson2018-09-24T08:49:58+00:00

The sun’s beating down on my lazy ass, so I’m debating if I want to make the 15 minute walk to the mini mart.

Luckily for the block where I’m staying there’s a Tuk Tuk every 4 feet. The call of Tuk Tuk drivers yelling “Tuk Tuk! Want a tuk tuk?”, is as common as mosquitos and 50 cent draft here.

Most of the drivers yell this while lying across their own Tuk Tuks, sometimes while in a hammock they’ve set up.

These guys have seen me everyday, and they probably know my schedule so well, that if an assassin wanted to get me, they’d just have to pay them a $1 to get to know it.

On this particularly hot day thouugh, I thought “Why not?”

So, I go up to one of the guys who has always hassled me, and I ask him how much,

“$6!”

“Are you kidding me?” To be completely honest, my mind is blown. I’ve seen this guy, hang out for 8 hours in front of the bar that I like to go to, with zero customers. He’ll just chat with the other Tuk Tuk driver’s, take naps and yell for customers.

Normally, I’m polite to these guys, (hey, we’re all out to make a buck). But a quote of $6, for something that should be about 80 cents? I didn’t mean to, but I did laugh out loud.

I just walked away, deciding a 15 minute trek though the blazing heat would be more enjoyable than haggling.

The Tuk Tuk driver, tried to haggle some more, but being sweaty and kind of annoyed that I had given him a chance only to get such a ridiculous price, I walked away.

I met up with a local Khmer and asked them how much Tuk Tuk drivers make a month. It turn’s out most of them make about $50 a month.

But they’d rather take a nap then try to find customers.

And when they do get a customer, these lazy drivers will try to get an exorbitant price versus a normal rate.

In their mind, “I’d rather get 6 customers a month at $10 each. Napping is so much easier, than trying harder.”

I can see this behaviour making sense making 5 years ago when there weren’t any ride sharing apps, but there are!

PassApp is actually used to book Tuk Tuks, or you can use GRAB as well. Both of these work fine, an 80 cent ride is an 80 cent ride. (Prices are confirmed ahead of time). Every time one of the lazy drivers, see me in a Tuk Tuk that I’ve called by GRAB they’ll scowl, and yell. But there’s nothing they can do.

These apps, are a lifesaver in Siem Reap. If you’re negotiating for a Tuk Tuk on the side of the road? You’re probably going to get ripped off.

Do yourself a favor, and make sure you have an APP downloaded by the time you get out off the plane.

Besides the prices, how is living in Siem Reap? Well, like I said it is a tourist town.

What does that mean?

You’ll feel like you’re on a vacation all the time. It can get really easy to lose track of time. A month here just blew by. (I have found my favorite hammock and I live in it!)

The English is perfect. Even at the local mom and pop shops. I’d say 10/10. Better than anywhere else I’ve been to so far in South East Asia. It’s really nice, and definitely something I didn’t expect!

Healthcare? Pharmacies everywhere, and hospital care is cheap much like the rest of South East Asia

Transportation: Tuk Tuks and private cars. Use the Grab App or Passapp to book them. Incredibly fast. I waited 5 minutes maximum. Using Google Maps is still strange to some of the drivers, so be ready to show them how to read a map. They aren’t trying to cheat you, they just don’t understand how maps work.

Sidewalks and Traffic: After coming here from Vietnam, I was in love. Sure they don’t really use traffic lights but the traffic isn’t insane. They also have sidewalks. I know it seems crazy to say they have sidewalks, but after being in a lot of South East Asia, you quickly learn that in most countries, sidewalks are a luxury.

Gyms: One of the best in the world for value/price. The one I go to is a very serious one with tons of equipment

Wifi: Fast. But sometimes, the whole grid goes down because of shoddy electricity.

Food: Cambodian food, really seems to be a mix of foods from all over. I ate a lot of pizza, bbq chicken and fried rice. They have Amok, a type of protein dish that isn’t bad, but nothing I am dying for (unlike Hong Kong, which I have to go to for sweet and sour pork).

Sin: Beer is cheap cheap cheap. At 50 cents a pint, and smokes at 75 cents, you can literally pay for your whole vacation here if you compare the price to drinking/smoking/partying at home for a weekend.

Visa: As a Canadian, I got a visa on arrival for 30 days for free. I extended it for $50 for a month. (It’s possible to extend it for 3 months for $75.) That means you can stay here for 4 months before you have to do a border run

Cambodia? Have you even heard of it? Obviously you’ve heard of Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields, but did you know it’s one of the best places to retire cheap in the world?

As you know my dear readers, my goal is to find the best country to retire cheap. I’ve been looking for a place with it all, gyms, cheap food, cheap beers, massages and all under $1000 a month Canadian.

Coming to Cambodia I had very little hope. Every one I talked to told me, “It’s a crappy, expensive version of Vietnam.” Or “It’s dirty and backwards.”

Arriving in Phnom Penh from Ho Chi Minh, my plan was to spend a month here, and a month in Siem Reap. (The big 2 famous cities in Cambodia).

Phnom Penh as you know is famous for the Killing Fields. I spent day one there, but I can tell you day 2 was spent doing pretty much nothing.

I did go to their famous Russian Market. But after being to the weekend market in Bangkok, the Russian Market was horribly overpriced and boring. (I wonder if this means I’m officially a travel snob?)

My plans of staying in Phnom Penh for a month were shattered quickly. The place is dirty, over priced, and really has nothing to do.

Also there isn’t a central place to stay where you can go wander around. It’s like staying in a small town that’s the size of a big city.

No mass rail system means either taking the bus (yuck) or taxi Tuk Tuks (overpriced).

This is also the city in which I saw my first dog bbq. No thanks.

I took the bus to Siem Reap after day 2, with very low expectations.

I had booked my next flight (to Hong Kong) from Siem Reap, so I was now forced to stay here for 2 months.

After Phnom Penh my expectations were pretty low. Like, drunk at 3am in a bad bar trying to find a cute girl low.

Turns out I was wrong!

Thankfully Siem Reap is amazing! Yes it has Angkor Wat (voted 2018 best attraction by TripAdvisor) LINK TO BEST WAY TO EXPLORE ANGKOR WAT and yes it’s full of tourists, but it also still has a local charm that I did not expect.

People were friendly, spoke fluent English (9/10) and always had a smile on their face.

I think this is what Bangkok was like 20 years ago.

My private room in a hostel (Warm Bed’s Hostel) was $6 USD a night because I booked it for 2 months.

Right now I’m writing this article as I drink a 50 cent draft by the pool of Blue Bar…..

…I will continue this story with a summary soon. But I can’t today because I’m out of beer, and the waitress is coming by…..

If you want to read more about find the best countries to retire cheap check out this

The gym itself is in an open air warehouse. Huge Cambodian guys, and fit girls are all over the place.

Tons of machines, free weights and heavy weights show that this is a lifters gym.

While there are the rows of mandatory cardio machines, the majority of the gym is dedicated to getting your weightlifting game on.

In fact if you want to use the treadmills it’s $1 USD for every 20 minutes! I’ve never seen this anywhere else in the world, but electricity is expensive in Siem Reap.

My membership for the month is $25 USD, but if you only want to go occasionally the $1 USD a day drop in makes much more sense.

One crazy thing that sticks out here at Angkor Muscle gym is that it’s a shirt optional gym.

I haven’t seen many of these gyms in North America but after a few workouts without a shirt, I highly approve.

Without a shirt on, I quickly notice a couple things.

I’m tanned really oddly, splotchy like a fried egg, I resolve to get my tan on later.

I hate how certain parts of my body look, my obliques for example are gross. Normally I don’t notice because I’m usually working out with a shirt on. Here every imperfection that is normally hidden is in full view with the giant mirrors.

6 packs are everywhere. This gym really can really highlight how out of shape you are.

Working out while travelling to find the best countries to retire cheap is mandatory for me. If I don’t do it, I find that I quickly enter the wake up, hammock and drinking stage.

When you have no real schedule, no need to work and nobody you know around, it’s really easy to get into this “who cares” phase.

So, If you’re looking into this retirement lifestyle, far away in a different land, I’d recommend you find a good gym as a 3rd home in your new city.

Hope this helps you with your quest to find somewhere cheap to retire, keep following the blog for more useful info LINK TO TRAVEL ARTICLES

Rated as the #1 trip destination in the world in 2018 by TripAdvisor, Angkor Wat is a huge temple in Siem Reap. Is it worth the hype?

Definitely yes!

Getting there from anywhere in Siem Reap is a snap.

There’s a bunch of ways, bicycle, tuk tuk or private car.

The reason you’d want to go by bicycle is because it’s actually quite a pretty trek. If you like active travelling this is way to go. On the road you get to see things you might not otherwise like roadside monkeys

I saw a lot of bicyclists when I was going there by Tuk Tuk. (Because I’m lazy, there’s no way you could convince me to cycle there!)

I would advise against a private car or tour group because it’s not necessary at all. The ride there by Tuk Tuk is just fine.

(Although my Tuk Tuk did break down on the way to the ticket office!)

(The driver pulled into a nearby roadside stand, the kind you see all over the place in South East Asia, with little bottles of gasoline for sale in Abolut Vodka bottles, or Pepsi bottles. They fixed the flat and off we went!)

The price of a tuk tuk was $15 USD for a day of temples. This is pretty much a standard rate. The drivers have all spoken uniformly fluent English, so there’s no problems getting one. (On my hostel street, I get asked if I want a tuk tuk at least three times before I can get around the corner to breakfast!)

They’ll first take you to the Angkor Wat ticket booth where you have an option to buy either a 1 day, 3 day or 7 day pass. I bought the 1 day pass for $37 USD.

We were at the ticket office at 5am because we were hoping to get to Angkor Wat for sunrise. We did make it for sunrise time, but unfortunately because of the clouds the site wasn’t much different.

We spent about 5 hours there, and could have spent more time, but it was enough time for us. It is a huge complex! When you get there they’ll ask if you want a tour guide. The guides speak fluent English, Japanese, Spanish & French. That’s part of the reason, I say that don’t need to book an organized tour. (Literally I saw a group of Japanese tourists and the Cambodian guide speaking fluent Japanese blew my mind. Cambodia so far has the best language skills I’ve ever seen in the world. Unlike South America, which only speaks Spanish LINK TO SOUTH AMERICA ARTICLES

The tuk tuk then took us on a temple circuit where we saw a few other different temples. (Your Angkor Wat ticket gets you into all the temples, so don’t lose it.)

After the day of temples our tuk tuk driver took us back to our respective hostels. (My new friends from the bus had booked at different hostels……..). A whole day of temple touring in Siem Reap was great, and not too expensive.

$37 1 day pass

$15 Tuk Tuk for the day (split 3 ways)

No extra food/water/etc that you wouldn’t have spent otherwise. (TIP: Don’t buy food at Angkor Wat, very overpriced)

Hope this helps you with your trip to Angkor Wat, and if you want more articles about Cambodia go here LINK TO CAMBODIA ARTICLES

Retiring cheap in Vietnam means you are going to be going to Cambodia. Why? Visa runs. The typical visa you’re going to get in Vietnam will be the 3 month tourist visa. This means every 3 months, off you go somewhere else. For most people it means taking the bus to Cambodia ($20 CDN)

You might not go all the way to Phomn Penh, but if you are here’s the scoop.

First you’ll buy a bus ticket from Giant Ibis. This company ACTUALLY has a website where you can actually buy your ticket.

This might not seem like a big deal to you if you’ve never left North America. But believe me it is.

Showing up at the bus station (it’s in Bui Vien District 1) you might not actually see it. I was expecting a big terminal with buses. I actually refused to get out of my GRAB until he told me 100 times that, “yes, this is Giant Ibis”.

The little office is tucked inside. So look for the Panda Travel sign.

There are no buses around. They just pull up when it’s time to go.

Before you board, they are going to want to see your passport and if you don’t have a Cambodian Visa, you’ll pay for one here ($35 USD). It’s important to note that the price is in USD.

From this point on, you will no longer need your Vietnemase Dong (hehehhehe).

Cambodia works on Riels, and USD. There’s a currency exchange place right next door though.

I don’t know how badly I got ripped off. I just needed some greenbacks.

Getting on the bus was simple with the arranged seats

The bus itself is comfortable, think Economy plus on an airplane. It’s got wifi, electrical plugs for your gear, and reclining seats. BRING A JACKET! The Aircon on the bus is cold. Almost every girl ran to the storage area at the first stop to get a jacket. At this point you should hang out near that area of the bus to make sure, nobody “accidentally” goes into your bags).

You’ll also get a water, pastry and wet wipe.

The bus trip was from 830 am to 430pm.

There are NO bathrooms on the bus. They do make stops every few hours though.

The first stop is at a mediocre restaurant. Don’t eat there. The food is overpriced and not so good.

They do have nice bathrooms though.

Going through customs is a breeze. The bus driver takes your passport, does all paperwork and then gives it all to the customs guys. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR BUS DRIVER. (He’s going to go the area you need to go, but isn’t going to wait for you.)

You’ll first get your Vietnam exit stamp then drive for a bit to the Cambodian border.

When you get to the border stops, you’ll get bombarded by money changers. If you do decide to use a money changer, find out the exchange rate and then use your own calculator to figure out the amount you should get.

(I’ve heard they like to give an ok exchange rate, then short change you on the actual money given.)

There’s another stop where you’re going to be able to get decent fried chicken and food at a little cart. I recommend eating here.

Arriving at the Giant Ibis station in Phomn Penh means dealing with Tuk Tuks.

The English speaking level here is actually pretty good. (I’m rating it 8//10….like the Philippines) If you’re going to an out of the way place to stay, it’s handy to have the phone number. The tuk tuk drivers will call them for you for directions.

I didn’t see any cabs. In the two days I’ve been here, I’ve seen zero cabs. There is Grab and PassApp in Cambodia.

How much is a Tuk Tuk? My place was 23 minutes away from the Giant Ibis terminal. So, they quoted $20 USD.

From my experience in Bangkok, I know that Tuk Tuks are the greediest bastards you’ll ever see. After several minutes of haggling I settled on $12 USD.

Normally I would NEVER take a tuk tuk from a bus/train/plane station. You know it’s going to severely over priced.

But when I arrived the rain was so heavy and torrential that cars were up to mid rim. Literally calf deep water.

In that type of weather, I’ll pay a little more. (My ride back by the way was $7 USD negotiated with a random tuk tuk near where I was staying).

I hope this helps you on your way to find the best place to retire cheap. If you want more articles this is the place to go. LINKS TO ALL ARTICLES